Gov. Pataki announces $3 million in state funding for construction of Syracuse University’s new School of Management building

Gov. Pataki announces $3 million in state funding for construction of Syracuse University’s new School of Management buildingMarch 06, 2002Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Gov. George E. Pataki visited the Syracuse University campus March 6 to announce $3 million in state funding to assist SU in the construction of the University’s new School of Management (SOM) building.

The allocation has been made to aid the School of Management in its role of fostering economic development in the region. The school currently has strong partnerships with members of the Central New York business community. With a significant increase in academic and community space, school administrators anticipate increasing the school’s outreach substantially.

“New York state is already one of the best places in the nation to do business, and Syracuse University is going to help ensure that we have the most highly trained business leaders to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” said Gov. Pataki. “This exciting new project will provide vital support to promising businesses across New York, and is an outstanding example of how the public and private sectors–working together with our outstanding universities–can produce great things for the local community.”

“From $100 billion in tax cuts, to our proposed expansion of the Excelsior Linked Deposit Program, to our outstanding support of this new facility at Syracuse University, New York is committed to helping its small businesses become as competitive and successful as possible.”

“This is a great day for Syracuse University and for the people of New York state,” said Syracuse University Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw. “This building will allow the University to be an even more important presence in economic development in Central New York and New York state.”

“The School of Management is thrilled that Gov. Pataki and the state of New York are supporting the school’s outreach to the Central New York business community,” said George R. Burman, dean of the School of Management. “Our central theme is entrepreneurial management, and two key elements of that are a strong partnership with the Central New York business community and support for business startups. The new School of Management building is designed to enhance our ability to accomplish these two goals.”

“In addition, our students will be the real winners with a wonderful learning environment,” Burman said. “The school is committed to outreach and is excited about the Governor’s belief in the partnership among government, the University and the business community.”

“My family business has already been impacted in many ways by the School of Management,” says William Devendorf G’91, president of Eagle Comtronics, a Syracuse-based manufacturing company. “Syracuse is a great place to live and to own a business. We so fortunate to have a management school of such caliber in our own backyard, and look forward to all of the exciting possibilities that the new building will open up for future collaboration between our business and the school.”

Current and proposed future links between the school and the business community include the following:

• Export New York: The School of Management, partnering with Niagara Mohawk and local and state economic development agencies, is committed to providing yearlong training sessions to CNY businesses interested in expanding and/or enhancing their export businesses. The school has already hosted a number of sessions.

• The school’s Entrepreneurial Management Program works closely with the Center for Applied Software Engineering (CASE), the University’s high-tech incubator. The partnership provides a strong foundation for many of the school’s entrepreneurial endeavors.

• Executive Education: The school currently offers a limited number of non-degree executive education programs which provide local business leaders with the competitive skills needed to compete in a constantly changing business environment. The new building will provide additional space and give the school the opportunity to expand those programs.

• Business Plan Competition: The School of Management sponsors an annual business plan competition to encourage promising students to develop new businesses in the Central New York community. This year 23 student teams (13 undergraduate and 10 graduate) entered the competition.

• Privatization: The school’s Entrepreneurial Management Program is prepared to provide support to privatize certain government enterprises.

• Consulting: The school’s academic programs, faculty members and student organizations have worked directly with local businesses to assist them in improving their business practices and to help them better understand the competition.

The University’s School of Management is currently housed in the Crouse-Hinds School of Management Building, located on South Crouse Avenue. That building no longer meets the school’s needs, say SOM administrators.

The new building–150,000 gross square feet–will be constructed on the site of the current Marshall parking lot on the SU campus, located at the corner of Marshall Street and University Avenue. The total cost of the project is $36.2 million. The amount raised to date from external gifts and pledges is $17 million, and there will be a sizeable commitment from the University. The Manhattan-based architectural firm Fox & Fowle Architects, PC, led by senior principal and SU alumnus Bruce Fowle ’60, is designing project.

The new building will include 23 state-of-the-art classrooms; 20 undergraduate and 20 graduate breakout rooms; a 200-seat amphitheater; an Investment Research Lab; incubator start-up business space; a 9,000 square-foot Executive Education Center; a Research and Themes Center; enhanced visitors and career centers; and faculty seminar rooms and offices. Groundbreaking for the new building is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2003, and the building is scheduled for occupancy in the fall of 2004.